Nick Spencer - Doing Good: The Future of the Church? (N157)

00:00
00:00

Well, this is it, Dave Ward's final episode. After six years of podcasting, he's decided to go on to other things (probably something to do with horses...).  In his final episode, we're chatting with Nick Spencer, the Director of Research at Theos Think Tank, and author of The Evolution of the West: How Christianity Has Shaped Our Values. And we're asking him, what difference has Christianity really made to society, and what indications are there that it has a hopeful future?  Interview starts at 19m 38s If you want more from Nomad, check out our website, and follow us on Facebook and twitter If you're looking for other people to share this journey with, then register on our Listener Map, and see if any other nomads are in your area.  Nomad can only keep going because a small group of faithful listeners help us pay the bills. If you want to join them, you can make regular donations at Patreon or a one-off or regular donation through PayPal, the links to which you can find on our support page. As a thank you, you'll have access to Nomad Book Club, our online community The Beloved Listener Lounge, and Nomad Devotionals, where we're attempting to reconstruct worship through a creative mix of songs, music, readings, prayers and guest reflections.

Released on 23 Oct 2017

Share this page...
SettingsRequest history8.3.17PHP Version1.23sRequest Duration4MBMemory UsageGET podcasts/{podcast}/episodes/{episode}
status
200 OK
full_url
https://premier.amperative.site/podcasts/nomad-podcast/episodes/nick-spencer-doing-good-the-future-o...
action_name
podcasts.episodes.show
controller_action
App\Http\Controllers\PodcastEpisodesController@show
Theme
Open Button Position
Hide Empty Tabs
Autoshow
Reset to defaults
status
200 OK
full_url
https://premier.amperative.site/podcasts/nomad-podcast/episodes/nick-spencer-doing-good-the-future-o...
action_name
podcasts.episodes.show
controller_action
App\Http\Controllers\PodcastEpisodesController@show
uri
GET podcasts/{podcast}/episodes/{episode}
scope_bindings
true
controller
App\Http\Controllers\PodcastEpisodesController@show
file
app/Http/Controllers/PodcastEpisodesController.php:20-36
middleware
web
duration
1.23s
peak_memory
4MB
response
text/html; charset=UTF-8
request_format
html
request_query
[]
request_request
[]
request_headers
0 of 0
array:15 [ "host" => array:1 [ 0 => "premier.amperative.site" ] "connection" => array:1 [ 0 => "keep-alive" ] "pragma" => array:1 [ 0 => "no-cache" ] "cache-control" => array:1 [ 0 => "no-cache" ] "sec-ch-ua" => array:1 [ 0 => ""Chromium";v="130", "HeadlessChrome";v="130", "Not?A_Brand";v="99"" ] "sec-ch-ua-mobile" => array:1 [ 0 => "?0" ] "sec-ch-ua-platform" => array:1 [ 0 => ""Windows"" ] "upgrade-insecure-requests" => array:1 [ 0 => "1" ] "user-agent" => array:1 [ 0 => "Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)" ] "accept" => array:1 [ 0 => "text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,image/avif,image/webp,image/apng,*/*;q=0.8,application/signed-exchange;v=b3;q=0.7" ] "sec-fetch-site" => array:1 [ 0 => "none" ] "sec-fetch-mode" => array:1 [ 0 => "navigate" ] "sec-fetch-user" => array:1 [ 0 => "?1" ] "sec-fetch-dest" => array:1 [ 0 => "document" ] "accept-encoding" => array:1 [ 0 => "gzip, deflate, br, zstd" ] ]
request_cookies
[]
response_headers
0 of 0
array:3 [ "content-type" => array:1 [ 0 => "text/html; charset=UTF-8" ] "cache-control" => array:1 [ 0 => "no-cache, private" ] "date" => array:1 [ 0 => "Mon, 14 Jul 2025 16:16:03 GMT" ] ]
session_attributes
0 of 0
array:1 [ "_token" => "FkAHHPtd1KwJKpcmbkw6G4p5qvcGUTLpgm3g3kxu" ]
    • Booting (56.31ms)time
    • Application (1.17s)time
    • Routing (3.46ms)
    • 1 x Application (95.4%)
      1.17s
      1 x Booting (4.59%)
      56.31ms
      1 x Routing (0.28%)
      3.46ms
      62 templates were rendered
      • 1x templates.podcast-episodes.showshow.blade.php#?blade
      • 1x livewire.section-podcast-playersection-podcast-player.blade.php#?blade
      • 1x components.sections.header-playerheader-player.blade.php#?blade
      • 1x components.sections.header-topheader-top.blade.php#?blade
      • 35x components.iconicon.blade.php#?blade
      • 1x components.player.tracktrack.blade.php#?blade
      • 1x components.modals.modal-confirmationmodal-confirmation.blade.php#?blade
      • 3x components.modals.generic-1generic-1.blade.php#?blade
      • 1x components.sharethissharethis.blade.php#?blade
      • 3x components.cards.episodeepisode.blade.php#?blade
      • 1x components.modals.model-show-signupmodel-show-signup.blade.php#?blade
      • 1x components.recommendations.index-bespokeindex-bespoke.blade.php#?blade
      • 1x components.promotional-blockspromotional-blocks.blade.php#?blade
      • 1x components.sections.footerfooter.blade.php#?blade
      • 2x components.form.inputinput.blade.php#?blade
      • 2x components.form.input-groupinput-group.blade.php#?blade
      • 1x components.layouts.mastermaster.blade.php#?blade
      • 1x components.faviconfavicon.blade.php#?blade
      • 1x components.social-metasocial-meta.blade.php#?blade
      • 1x components.modals.searchsearch.blade.php#?blade
      • 1x components.toast-controllertoast-controller.blade.php#?blade
      • 1x components.modals.model-show-thank-youmodel-show-thank-you.blade.php#?blade
      uri
      GET podcasts/{podcast}/episodes/{episode}
      middleware
      web
      scope_bindings
      true
      controller
      App\Http\Controllers\PodcastEpisodesController@show
      as
      podcasts.episodes.show
      file
      app/Http/Controllers/PodcastEpisodesController.php:20-36
      27 statements were executed (14 duplicates)Show only duplicates67.54ms
      • RedirectMiddleware.php#49premier1.18msselect * from `redirects` where `is_regex` = 1 and `redirects`.`deleted_at` is null
        Bindings
        • 0: 1
        Backtrace
        • app/Http/Middleware/RedirectMiddleware.php:49
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Pipeline/Pipeline.php:180
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Pipeline/Pipeline.php:116
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Routing/Router.php:797
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Routing/Router.php:776
      • RedirectMiddleware.php#79premier570μsselect * from `redirects` where `is_regex` = 0 and `match` = '/podcasts/nomad-podcast/episodes/nick-spencer-doing-good-the-future-of-the-church-n157' and `is_active` = 1 and `redirects`.`deleted_at` is null limit 1
        Bindings
        • 0: 0
        • 1: /podcasts/nomad-podcast/episodes/nick-spencer-doing-good-the-future-of-the-church-n157
        • 2: 1
        Backtrace
        • app/Http/Middleware/RedirectMiddleware.php:79
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Pipeline/Pipeline.php:180
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Pipeline/Pipeline.php:116
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Routing/Router.php:797
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Routing/Router.php:776
      • DatabaseSessionHandler.php#97premier700μsselect * from `sessions` where `id` = 'aSyCDWkA1JqMklw94YL5JwSOxyCmTRItgLzKh8kr' limit 1
        Bindings
        • 0: aSyCDWkA1JqMklw94YL5JwSOxyCmTRItgLzKh8kr
        Backtrace
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Session/DatabaseSessionHandler.php:97
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Session/Store.php:113
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Session/Store.php:101
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Session/Store.php:85
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Session/Middleware/StartSession.php:147
      • DatabaseSessionHandler.php#281premier3.01msdelete from `sessions` where `last_activity` <= 1752502563
        Bindings
        • 0: 1752502563
        Backtrace
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Session/DatabaseSessionHandler.php:281
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Session/Middleware/StartSession.php:178
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Session/Middleware/StartSession.php:119
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Session/Middleware/StartSession.php:64
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Pipeline/Pipeline.php:180
      • ContentFamilyTrait.php#42premier1msselect * from `podcasts` where `slug` = 'nomad-podcast' and `is_active` = 1 and `podcasts`.`deleted_at` is null limit 1
        Bindings
        • 0: nomad-podcast
        • 1: 1
        Backtrace
        • app/Models/Traits/ContentFamilyTrait.php:42
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Routing/ImplicitRouteBinding.php:61
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Routing/Router.php:947
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Routing/Middleware/SubstituteBindings.php:41
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Pipeline/Pipeline.php:180
      • ContentFamilyTrait.php#59premier28.14msselect * from `podcast_episodes` where `podcast_episodes`.`podcast_id` = 58 and `podcast_episodes`.`podcast_id` is not null and `slug` = 'nick-spencer-doing-good-the-future-of-the-church-n157' and `podcast_episodes`.`deleted_at` is null order by `published_at` desc limit 1
        Bindings
        • 0: 58
        • 1: nick-spencer-doing-good-the-future-of-the-church-n157
        Backtrace
        • app/Models/Traits/ContentFamilyTrait.php:59
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Routing/ImplicitRouteBinding.php:56
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Routing/Router.php:947
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Routing/Middleware/SubstituteBindings.php:41
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Pipeline/Pipeline.php:180
      • PromotionalBlockCacheMiddleware.php#24premier850μsselect * from `promotional_blocks` where (`display_from` is null or `display_from` < '2025-07-14 17:16:03') and (`display_to` is null or `display_to` > '2025-07-14 17:16:03')
        Bindings
        • 0: 2025-07-14 17:16:03
        • 1: 2025-07-14 17:16:03
        Backtrace
        • app/Http/Middleware/PromotionalBlockCacheMiddleware.php:24
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Cache/Repository.php:397
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Cache/CacheManager.php:408
        • app/Http/Middleware/PromotionalBlockCacheMiddleware.php:23
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Pipeline/Pipeline.php:180
      • PodcastEpisodesController.php#22premier640μsselect exists(select * from `brands` where `brands`.`id` is null and `brands`.`deleted_at` is null) as `exists`
        Backtrace
        • app/Http/Controllers/PodcastEpisodesController.php:22
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Routing/Controller.php:54
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Routing/ControllerDispatcher.php:43
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Routing/Route.php:259
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Routing/Route.php:205
      • PodcastEpisode.php#195premier1.08msselect exists(select * from `musicables` where `musicables`.`musicable_type` = 'App\Models\PodcastEpisode' and `musicables`.`musicable_id` = 11169 and `musicables`.`musicable_id` is not null) as `exists`
        Bindings
        • 0: App\Models\PodcastEpisode
        • 1: 11169
        Backtrace
        • app/Models/PodcastEpisode.php:195
        • app/Http/Livewire/SectionPodcastPlayer.php:104
        • app/Http/Livewire/SectionPodcastPlayer.php:43
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/BoundMethod.php:36
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/Util.php:41
      • PodcastEpisode.php#102premier580μsselect * from `podcasts` where `podcasts`.`id` = 58 and `podcasts`.`deleted_at` is null limit 1
        Bindings
        • 0: 58
        Backtrace
        • app/Models/PodcastEpisode.php:102
        • app/Models/PodcastEpisode.php:195
        • app/Http/Livewire/SectionPodcastPlayer.php:104
        • app/Http/Livewire/SectionPodcastPlayer.php:43
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/BoundMethod.php:36
      • Podcast.php#215premier820μsselect exists(select * from `music_genres` inner join `musicables` on `music_genres`.`id` = `musicables`.`music_genre_id` where `musicables`.`musicable_id` = 58 and `musicables`.`musicable_type` = 'App\Models\Podcast' and `music_genres`.`deleted_at` is null) as `exists`
        Bindings
        • 0: 58
        • 1: App\Models\Podcast
        Backtrace
        • app/Models/Podcast.php:215
        • app/Models/PodcastEpisode.php:195
        • app/Http/Livewire/SectionPodcastPlayer.php:104
        • app/Http/Livewire/SectionPodcastPlayer.php:43
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/BoundMethod.php:36
      • SectionPodcastPlayer.php#108premier560μsselect * from `listenable_progress_items` where `listenable_progress_items`.`listenable_type` = 'App\Models\PodcastEpisode' and `listenable_progress_items`.`listenable_id` = 11169 and `listenable_progress_items`.`listenable_id` is not null and `user_id` is null limit 1
        Bindings
        • 0: App\Models\PodcastEpisode
        • 1: 11169
        Backtrace
        • app/Http/Livewire/SectionPodcastPlayer.php:108
        • app/Http/Livewire/SectionPodcastPlayer.php:43
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/BoundMethod.php:36
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/Util.php:41
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/BoundMethod.php:93
      • SectionPodcastPlayer.php#168premier8.92msselect * from `podcast_episodes` where `podcast_id` = 58 and `published_at` < '2017-10-23 09:54:19' and `podcast_episodes`.`deleted_at` is null order by `published_at` desc limit 1
        Bindings
        • 0: 58
        • 1: 2017-10-23 09:54:19
        Backtrace
        • app/Http/Livewire/SectionPodcastPlayer.php:168
        • app/Http/Livewire/SectionPodcastPlayer.php:45
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/BoundMethod.php:36
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/Util.php:41
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/BoundMethod.php:93
      • SectionPodcastPlayer.php#178premier9.31msselect * from `podcast_episodes` where `podcast_id` = 58 and `published_at` > '2017-10-23 09:54:19' and `podcast_episodes`.`deleted_at` is null order by `published_at` asc limit 3
        Bindings
        • 0: 58
        • 1: 2017-10-23 09:54:19
        Backtrace
        • app/Http/Livewire/SectionPodcastPlayer.php:178
        • app/Http/Livewire/SectionPodcastPlayer.php:46
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/BoundMethod.php:36
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/Util.php:41
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/BoundMethod.php:93
      • PodcastEpisode.php#195premier780μsselect exists(select * from `musicables` where `musicables`.`musicable_type` = 'App\Models\PodcastEpisode' and `musicables`.`musicable_id` = 11169 and `musicables`.`musicable_id` is not null) as `exists`
        Bindings
        • 0: App\Models\PodcastEpisode
        • 1: 11169
        Backtrace
        • app/Models/PodcastEpisode.php:195
        • view::livewire.section-podcast-player:4
        • vendor/livewire/livewire/src/ComponentConcerns/RendersLivewireComponents.php:84
        • vendor/livewire/livewire/src/ComponentConcerns/RendersLivewireComponents.php:59
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/View/View.php:195
      • Podcast.php#215premier590μsselect exists(select * from `music_genres` inner join `musicables` on `music_genres`.`id` = `musicables`.`music_genre_id` where `musicables`.`musicable_id` = 58 and `musicables`.`musicable_type` = 'App\Models\Podcast' and `music_genres`.`deleted_at` is null) as `exists`
        Bindings
        • 0: 58
        • 1: App\Models\Podcast
        Backtrace
        • app/Models/Podcast.php:215
        • app/Models/PodcastEpisode.php:195
        • view::livewire.section-podcast-player:4
        • vendor/livewire/livewire/src/ComponentConcerns/RendersLivewireComponents.php:84
        • vendor/livewire/livewire/src/ComponentConcerns/RendersLivewireComponents.php:59
      • Setting.php#20premier910μsselect * from `settings` where `setting_key` = 'web_donation_link' limit 1
        Bindings
        • 0: web_donation_link
        Backtrace
        • app/Models/Setting.php:20
        • app/Helpers/Settings.php:6
        • vendor/livewire/livewire/src/ComponentConcerns/RendersLivewireComponents.php:84
        • vendor/livewire/livewire/src/ComponentConcerns/RendersLivewireComponents.php:59
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/View/View.php:195
      • Setting.php#20premier590μsselect * from `settings` where `setting_key` = 'web_donation_link' limit 1
        Bindings
        • 0: web_donation_link
        Backtrace
        • app/Models/Setting.php:20
        • app/Helpers/Settings.php:6
        • vendor/livewire/livewire/src/ComponentConcerns/RendersLivewireComponents.php:84
        • vendor/livewire/livewire/src/ComponentConcerns/RendersLivewireComponents.php:59
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/View/View.php:195
      • Setting.php#20premier740μsselect * from `settings` where `setting_key` = 'web_donation_link' limit 1
        Bindings
        • 0: web_donation_link
        Backtrace
        • app/Models/Setting.php:20
        • app/Helpers/Settings.php:6
        • vendor/livewire/livewire/src/ComponentConcerns/RendersLivewireComponents.php:84
        • vendor/livewire/livewire/src/ComponentConcerns/RendersLivewireComponents.php:59
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/View/View.php:195
      • PodcastEpisode.php#195premier900μsselect exists(select * from `musicables` where `musicables`.`musicable_type` = 'App\Models\PodcastEpisode' and `musicables`.`musicable_id` = 11169 and `musicables`.`musicable_id` is not null) as `exists`
        Bindings
        • 0: App\Models\PodcastEpisode
        • 1: 11169
        Backtrace
        • app/Models/PodcastEpisode.php:195
        • app/Http/Livewire/SectionPodcastPlayer.php:132
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/BoundMethod.php:36
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/Util.php:41
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/BoundMethod.php:93
      • Podcast.php#215premier660μsselect exists(select * from `music_genres` inner join `musicables` on `music_genres`.`id` = `musicables`.`music_genre_id` where `musicables`.`musicable_id` = 58 and `musicables`.`musicable_type` = 'App\Models\Podcast' and `music_genres`.`deleted_at` is null) as `exists`
        Bindings
        • 0: 58
        • 1: App\Models\Podcast
        Backtrace
        • app/Models/Podcast.php:215
        • app/Models/PodcastEpisode.php:195
        • app/Http/Livewire/SectionPodcastPlayer.php:132
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/BoundMethod.php:36
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Container/Util.php:41
      • PodcastEpisode.php#102premier910μsselect * from `podcasts` where `podcasts`.`id` = 58 and `podcasts`.`deleted_at` is null limit 1
        Bindings
        • 0: 58
        Backtrace
        • app/Models/PodcastEpisode.php:102
        • app/Models/PodcastEpisode.php:129
        • view::livewire.section-podcast-player:168
        • vendor/livewire/livewire/src/ComponentConcerns/RendersLivewireComponents.php:84
        • vendor/livewire/livewire/src/ComponentConcerns/RendersLivewireComponents.php:59
      • PodcastEpisode.php#102premier860μsselect * from `podcasts` where `podcasts`.`id` = 58 and `podcasts`.`deleted_at` is null limit 1
        Bindings
        • 0: 58
        Backtrace
        • app/Models/PodcastEpisode.php:102
        • app/Models/PodcastEpisode.php:129
        • view::livewire.section-podcast-player:168
        • vendor/livewire/livewire/src/ComponentConcerns/RendersLivewireComponents.php:84
        • vendor/livewire/livewire/src/ComponentConcerns/RendersLivewireComponents.php:59
      • PodcastEpisode.php#102premier1.16msselect * from `podcasts` where `podcasts`.`id` = 58 and `podcasts`.`deleted_at` is null limit 1
        Bindings
        • 0: 58
        Backtrace
        • app/Models/PodcastEpisode.php:102
        • app/Models/PodcastEpisode.php:129
        • view::livewire.section-podcast-player:168
        • vendor/livewire/livewire/src/ComponentConcerns/RendersLivewireComponents.php:84
        • vendor/livewire/livewire/src/ComponentConcerns/RendersLivewireComponents.php:59
      • Setting.php#20premier980μsselect * from `settings` where `setting_key` = 'web_login_modal_title' limit 1
        Bindings
        • 0: web_login_modal_title
        Backtrace
        • app/Models/Setting.php:20
        • app/Helpers/Settings.php:6
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Filesystem/Filesystem.php:110
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/View/Engines/PhpEngine.php:58
        • vendor/livewire/livewire/src/ComponentConcerns/RendersLivewireComponents.php:69
      • Setting.php#20premier530μsselect * from `settings` where `setting_key` = 'web_login_modal_subtitle' limit 1
        Bindings
        • 0: web_login_modal_subtitle
        Backtrace
        • app/Models/Setting.php:20
        • app/Helpers/Settings.php:6
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Filesystem/Filesystem.php:110
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/View/Engines/PhpEngine.php:58
        • vendor/livewire/livewire/src/ComponentConcerns/RendersLivewireComponents.php:69
      • Setting.php#20premier570μsselect * from `settings` where `setting_key` = 'web_donation_link' limit 1
        Bindings
        • 0: web_donation_link
        Backtrace
        • app/Models/Setting.php:20
        • app/Helpers/Settings.php:6
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/Filesystem/Filesystem.php:110
        • vendor/laravel/framework/src/Illuminate/View/Engines/PhpEngine.php:58
        • vendor/livewire/livewire/src/ComponentConcerns/RendersLivewireComponents.php:69
      App\Models\Setting
      6Setting.php#?
      App\Models\Podcast
      5Podcast.php#?
      App\Models\PodcastEpisode
      5PodcastEpisode.php#?
      section-podcast-player #LwrGtKMyugN0hWEJsiya
      array:5 [ "data" => array:10 [ "podcast" => App\Models\Podcast {#2062 #connection: "mysq...
          _token
          FkAHHPtd1KwJKpcmbkw6G4p5qvcGUTLpgm3g3kxu
          ClearShow all
          Date ↕MethodURLData
          #12025-07-14 17:16:04GET/podcasts/nomad-podcast/episodes/nick-spencer-doing-good-the-future-of-the-church-n1576227161